Share This Post

Stock Market Malaysia History and Operations

Stock Market Malaysia – The Bursa Malaysia Berhad is an important member of the global stock markets, with a history stretching back almost 80 years. Instituted in 1930, the private Singapore Stockbrokers’ Association was the first sanctioned securities trading organization in Malaysia. This association of stock market Malaysia was renamed the Malayan Stockbrokers’ Association in 1937, but did not yet publicly trade shares.

In 1960, public trading of shares was inaugurated with the public Malaysian market, called the Malayan Stock Exchange. The Malayan Stock Exchange was the predecessor of the modern Malayan securities market. The Malayan Stock Exchange was renamed the Stock Exchange of Malaysia in 1964.

The stock market Malaysia operations continued as the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore (SEMS) after Singapore seceded from Malaysia in 1965. The exchange split into the Stock Exchange of Singapore, and the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Board in 1973, following the separation of the Malayan and Singapore currencies. In 1976, the Kuala Lumpur StockExchange was incorporated to take over operations of the KLSEB. The KLSEB was renamed the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1994.

Under direction of the Demutualization Act, in 2004 the klse stock market was converted from a not-for-profit organization limited by the guarantee of its membership, to an entity limited by its shares, called the Bursa Malaysia Berhad. At this time, the stock market Malaysia exchanges had a market capitalization of US $189 billion. With conversion, the securities exchange part of the business was transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Bursa Securities. In 2005, Bursa Malaysia was listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.

The main index, called the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) passed the 1,000 milestone in 2006, and in June 2007 held a market capitalization of US $307 billion. The market operations are divided into a Securities Exchange, a Derivatives Exchange, and an Offshore Exchange.

Larger companies are listed on the Bursa Malaysia Securities Main Board, medium sized companies on the Second Board, and high growth and technology companies on the MESDAQ market. There is also a separate board for offshore companies. Futures and options contracts are traded on the Derivatives Exchange, operated by Bursa Derivatives. These capital markets are regulated by various acts of parliament. The network of holding companies also develops and distributes comprehensive market information products and services.

There are plenty of markets that you can trade in. For many, trading a small bit of your portfolio overseas can help lower your exposure to what happens on the North American exchanges.